Haiti: Jean Yves Noël arrested for kidnapping and unlawful confinement

Port-au-Prince
May 26, 2006

On May 22, 2006 the Director General of the Central Unit for Economic and Financial Investigations (UCREF), Jean Yves Noël, was arrested and imprisoned Monday following a warrant issued by Judge Jean Pérès Paul. Noël is accused of kidnapping and unlawful confinement of bailiff Réginald St-Jean.

The Judge, who refused to go into details, stated that this was simply to implement a warrant issued against Noël May 17 last. We can now find him, since he refused to respond to any previous subpoenas, he continued.

The Director General of UCREF was tasked by the interim Prime Minister Gérard
Latortue to investigate files relating to funds that may have been embezzled
between February 7, 2001 and February 29, 2004, and no later.

In March 2004, the team led by Latortue was given power following the forced
departure of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Numerous sectors and citizens confirmed being a target of persecution and harassment by Jean Yves Noël, former employee of Sogebank, who is apparently not free from suspicion.

UCREF had an obvious political agenda as Paul Denis, head of the foreign financed and pro-coup political party the OPL, helped organize it.

A daily newspaper in Port-au-Prince recently reported that Noël was the target
of accusations of money laundering. While hundreds of prisoners have sat in jail for over two years, many wthout being formally charged. A number of elite opposition groups, banks, etc that ignored the persecution and attacks on supporters of the ousted government, are now calling for the freedom of Jean Yves Noël.

The issue of the detention of Mr. Jean Yves Noël, director of the anti-corruption body (UCREF) was mentioned during a meeting held earlier this week between president Rene Préval and both the Ministers of Justice and Finance of the outgoing Government of Haiti. Mr. Preval seized the opportunity to reiterate his commitment to fight corruption.

The elite funded pro-coup Washington Lobby group, the Haiti Democracy Project (HDP), is already claiming that the "rule of law at stake." Observers note that the Haiti Democracy Project (HDP) made no such claim as it's foreign funded civil society elite allies overthrew haitian democracy, installed a dictatorship, and killed/imprisoned thousands.